Naim Shah Jr.
Biography
Niam Shah, Jr., completed the Community Organizing Residency Program in 2010-2011.
Imam Saadiq Saafir, founder of ILM Foundation, included Naim Shah as part of the Imam staff of Masjid Ibaadillah in 1994. Naim is a licensed certified public accountant in the states of California and Nevada. He is currently a board member of the UMMA Community Clinic and previously served as treasurer of the Islamic Shura Council of Southern California.
As one of the co-founders of ILM Foundation, he serves as the National Director over chapters in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Austin, and Kalamazoo. ILM’s community based programs include the Go Beyond the G.A.M.E student athlete-mentoring program, and ILM Institute for Advanced Learning. ILM Foundation founded Humanitarian Day�. In 2008, ILM established its first international office in Ghana, Africa. In 2005 and 2008, Naim made the pilgrimage to Mecca and thereafter traveled to Belgium, Malaysia and Indonesia as part of a Muslim delegation from the United States. Naim is pursuing a second bachelor’s degree in Arabic, with the ultimate goal of obtaining a master’s degree in Islamic Finance. He received a full athletic scholarship to the California State University, Fresno and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting in 1992. Naim Shah Jr. is married to Qiyamah Aquil Shah and has four beautiful children.
Vision Statement
I envision ILM (Intellect Love and Mercy) Foundation institutionalizing a simple methodology to transform the latent potential within Muslims, into a passionate desire to serve humanity with excellence. In five years, I would like ILM to become the spark of a remarkable reawakening, compelling Muslims to become better parents, neighbors, educators and leaders. Today our photogenic Muslim community appears healthy, but under an x-ray, one will see imbalances creating fractures representing a DDIP (Denial, Division, Ignorance and Poverty). ILM Foundation’s vision is to use our programs and influence to remove the “DDIP.” Muslims have a common faith and unique blend of diversity, within a land of unlimited opportunity. Vital to the realization of this vision, is not statistical achievements, but the sincere implementation of Islamic theories such as “The best among you is he who is most useful,” and “The saving of one life is as if you have saved all of mankind.”
AMCLI Experience
The American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute is an innovative program that will improve the way Muslims contribute to American society, as Muhammad Yunus’s innovative micro-credit program contributed to Bangladesh. Today, with the bombardment of issues facing an emerging, yet still unsophisticated Muslim Civic community, AMCLI has emerged like a diamond to address those issues. I am so grateful to Nadia Roumani for bringing this concept into reality, the funders and institutional partners such as USC Center for Religion and Civic Culture. Many of us have assumed a great burden within our respective fields, but the AMCLI fraternity has revived us. I have acquired additional skills and established some sincere friendships. AMCLI brought together some of the most talented Muslim leaders I have ever met. I honestly feel AMCLI will become a right of a passage for many future American Muslim Leaders and I am honored to be part of the inaugural class of 2009. Go AMCLI!